


Report

by chellerrific



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-29
Updated: 2014-01-29
Packaged: 2018-01-10 11:40:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1159285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chellerrific/pseuds/chellerrific
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been a long day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Report

**Author's Note:**

> A bit of self-indulgent fluff I felt compelled to write after reading _House of Hades_ back in the fall because I thought this was a scene that needed to exist.

Hecate walked down the dark hall towards her rooms, pulling the pins from her hair one by one as she went. She was exhausted, but her footsteps were surprisingly light. Her polecat trailed along at her heels, looking incredibly pleased with herself.

Hecate’s hair fell down her back freely with the removal of the final pin. She pushed open the door to her rooms, fiddling with knots and clasps in a great desire to be free of her clothing soon. A long soak in the tub sounded like heaven. A massage sounded even better, but she wanted to be alone just now. Still, she had some lotions that would have nearly the same effect.

Any relaxation would be temporary, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t earned the right to it. The Underworld was a complete mess, and a lot of the burden of holding it all together had fallen on her shoulders. Some of that was gone now that Thanatos was back, thank the stars, but it would still be some time before things were really back to normal—especially with his lordship and his better half so discombobulated. Once the former was capable of signing off on it, she was going to demand a bonus.

“No—Gale, no.” Her flatulent polecat had made herself comfortable on Hecate’s pillow. “Get down! You are not sleeping in my bed tonight.”

There was a light knock at her door, which she’d left mostly open.

“You’re not sleeping in my bed tonight either, Thanat—oh.” When she turned, she found herself facing not her favorite winged sourpuss but his lordship himself.

He looked stable for the moment—Roman, but stable. His mouth was slightly open, like he wanted to speak but the words wouldn’t come. Normally Hecate would take the opportunity to tell him he looked like a fairly unattractive fish, but for once she took pity on him. Now was not the time.

She knew what he wanted to say, and knew that if she waited for him to actually say it, they would be standing there staring at one another all night—and the tub was calling her name.

So instead she said, “You should be very proud.”

There was an almost imperceptible exhalation, and an even more subtle quirking up of the corners of his mouth. “So…”

“She was brilliant. Almost as brilliant as me. She and her friends are all alive and well and ready for the home stretch.”

His smile broadened into what on most faces could be properly termed a grin.

“Whoa, rein it in,” Hecate teased, holding her hands up as if to ward him off. “These overt displays of joyful emotion are starting to weird me out.”

He rolled his eyes and turned to leave, but hesitated. “Really… thank you.”

She smiled at him. “Just remember your gratitude next time salary negotiations come around.”

He shook his head and left in earnest this time, pulling the door shut behind him.

Hecate shrugged and went back to undressing. She had gotten pretty good at forging his signature by now anyway.


End file.
